Withdrawal
by nosilverbullets
Summary: Bella is a girl with no social skills at all who is oblivious to all things around her. So what happens when she crosses paths with the 'king' of La Push High, Paul Meraz? Will she let him in? Or push him away? Paul/Bella, Bella/OC
1. King'

**A.N. Here I am with another story for you. I hope you like it;**** I decided to move away from Embry in this story *tears*. Yes, it is very sad. But don't worry fellow Embry lovers; I have another piece of Embry pie coming out to you soon ;-) Anyway, this one's about Paul so I hope you love it!  
Also, anyone wondering about all of my sequels, they are coming along. Since I've just finished exams I can write. Yay!  
Happy reading  
**

**Summary:**** Bella is a highly functioning sociopath with no social skills at all who is oblivious to all things around her. So what happens when she crosses paths with the 'king' of La Push High Paul Meraz? Will she let him in? Or push him away? Paul/Bella, Bella/OC****  
**  
**Disclaimer: I'm only gonna say this once; everything but the story line belongs to Stephanie Meyer.**

Bella paid extra attention to the eyes of the horse she was painting; they couldn't have been more than a centimetre wide on the canvas yet she made sure that they conveyed the feelings she wanted to put across.

"This one is beautiful too." Bella sighed quietly in annoyance and turned to the girl next to her; it seemed as if she was always around with that shy yet determined smile on her face.

Bella really couldn't understand her.

"Thanks…. _Again_." She answered; Qahla's smile grew to a point at which it was almost scary; Bella turned back to her painting without even returning the gesture.

Qahla's smile faltered a little but she exhaled and breathed through the pain…. Just as she always did.  
"It's okay." She whispered; Bella noticed the odd tone in her voice and turned to her again.

"Your hair…. It's different." She stated as she finally took in the sight of the other girl; she looked so different to how she normally did.

Bella wandered why she bothered.

All signs of sadness drained from Qahla's face and her smile was just as bright as it always was.

"You noticed." She breathed; a crimson blush crept up on her cheeks and her hand brushed against the bottom of the elaborate side bun that she had styled on her head this morning.

Bella nodded.

"It's…. nice." Qahla's blush grew darker when Bella turned her attention back to her painting.

After around five minutes, class ended and Qahla turned to Bella again,  
"Do you wanna go and get lunch?" She asked while packing up her things; Bella shook her head but never turned to the other girl.

"No, I wanna finish this." She muttered; Qahla dropped her things immediately and sat down. Bella's eye brows furrowed.

"You don't have to wait for me. You really don't." She wasn't trying to be offensive; she _never_ tried to… but it always came across that way.

Qahla felt lucky that Bella hadn't even bothered to turn to her or she would have seen the tears that threatened to fall.

Qahla got up immediately and left, along with most of the other students. She didn't go to the cafeteria; instead she decided to call it a day.

Bella barely noticed.

"You're really good." She jumped, luckily stopping herself before she could make an unsightly mark on the perfect image.

"Oh…. sorry." The stranger apologised, Bella mumbled that there was no harm done before she put down her current brush and picked up a larger one.

She still hadn't bothered to turn around and address whoever was disturbing her this time.

"I'm Alex; I'm new here." Bella exhaled with irritation before placing the brush down in her wash pot and finally swivelling around on her stool; there standing in front of her was a Quileute guy about her age.

He had two shoulder length braids on either side of his head and a bandanna on the top; his left eye brow had a piercing as well as below his bottom lip.

He looked like he was rebelling against something. His body type was slim and he was of average height.

"Bella." She replied as she gave him a small smile; he smirked in response.

"That's a pretty name for a very pretty girl." He gushed.

"Is that so?" She replied dryly as she began to pack up her paint supplies since the moment had passed now. Bella stood up and his eyes widened.

"You're tall." He announced; she nodded slowly since she always got that kind of reaction, it was funny to her though since she wouldn't class five foot ten as particularly tall anyway.

Bella put the brushes away in the cupboard and placed the unfinished painting under the window in the far corner to dry.

"It is really good, you could be famous." Alex told her since his chat- up lines were failing miserably.

"Yeah well hopefully while I'm still alive." She murmured as she removed her apron and slung her backpack over her left shoulder; Bella turned to see him standing there- still. What?

Was he some kind of stalker?

She blinked and stared at him expectantly; it was obvious that he wanted to say something.

"Uh, could you tell me where the cafeteria is? It's just that I don't really know my way around yet…." He trailed off because of the awkward silence; she nodded slowly and tried to hide her annoyance.

"I guess you can go with me." She replied; his face cracked into a wide smile. The pair left the classroom and walked into the crowded hallway, it was overflowing with Quileute students.

Some fiddling in their lockers, others using their cell phones and the rest were just talking.

"Let's go." Bella murmured as she began to walk, dodging in and out of the crowds; Alex tried his best to keep up. When they entered the cafeteria; he noticed that some people turned around and stared in their direction.

"Do I have something on my face?" He asked Bella quietly; she shook her head and led him over to her table on the far side of the cafeteria near the back door.

"It's not you; it's me they're staring at." She told him as she sat in her favourite seat and propped her elbow up on the table.

"Why would they be staring at you?" He asked her.

"I dunno, they do it all the time." She shrugged; he gave her a small chuckle. He could see why they stared at her.

Bella was beautiful. Her hair was long, chocolate coloured and straight; her face was a very pale for a Quileute but that was due to her mother Renee who was Caucasian.

Her long eyelashes framed her chocolate brown eyes and brushed against her high cheek bones.

"I guess they think I'm weird." Bella shrugged. They sat in silence for a while.

"I'm gonna go get some lunch." He told her as he placed his backpack on his chair and got up; she nodded and pointed him in the direction of the cafeteria 'food'.

Bella rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes briefly; it had been a while since she had talked to someone other than Qahla face-to -face. She never had been a social person so she was sure that her behaviour was nothing short of impolite.

Interacting with people had never really been her 'thing' though, she had always kept quiet and to herself; that was exactly how she liked it. She didn't need friends to make her happy.

"I don't even know what this is." He grumbled as he came back with a tray full of slop; Bella made a face. There was no way that_ it_ qualified as food. Alex pushed the tray away from him in disgust and shivered.

"Whatever… tell me about yourself, I-if you want to?" Bella encouraged while scratching her arm nervously, she was actually trying…. But then her mind wondered as he answered her question; it was official, Bella Swan had the attention span of a goldfish.

"…But I'm pretty sure I said all this at the beginning of Art Class when Ms Hyatt told me to introduce myself." Her mind snapped back to earth with those words.

"You did?... Are you sure?" She asked incredulously even though she hadn't heard a word he had said.

"Yeah but you were already painting, you weren't really paying attention." He shrugged; she nodded slowly, not knowing whether to apologise or ask him why he noticed all of that.

"How come you could do that anyway? Paint something totally different to the assignment, not to mention the fact that your stool and easel were far into the back of the classroom away from everyone else's." This guy was observant.

"The teachers here have given up on me; whatever happens I always end up painting what I want anyway….. Even in math." She told him; he laughed at that even though it wasn't a joke.

Suddenly, his laughter was the only thing that could be heard in the cafeteria; Bella hit him and nodded her head over to the entrance where Paul Meraz and Jared Thail stood.

Alex frowned as he watched the two boys walk over to a table, one of them raised his head to the rest of the students and nodded; just like that, the chatter and laughter entered the cafeteria again. He turned back to Bella who looked thoroughly annoyed.

"The one with the stupid grin, that's Paul Meraz, self-proclaimed king of this school….. And that's his imbecilic sidekick Jared." She introduced in a bored tone; Alex raised an eye brow.

"King?" He clarified; Bella nodded. _Lame._ It's not like they were living in High School Musical or something.

"Yep, I heard his dad's supposed to be some kind of big shot business man in Dubai; apparently, he paid a large 'donation' to the school so Paul can never ever be kicked out, none of the teachers ever say anything to him. He goes around beating people up like it's a sport or something; if you step on his toes, he does things that make you drop out of school of your own free will. He's also a man whore; he sleeps with anything…. Especially now he's all buff or whatever….. And Jared, well Jared's just his best friend; the Thail's and Meraz's have been friends for two generations or whatever… or so I hear." She explained; he nodded, so this Paul person was one of _those_ types.

A spoiled rich kid.

The two of them sat in a comfortable silence after that; Bella's head rested against the wall and she closed her eyes.

"I'm gonna dump this crap." Alex told her after a while; she looked to where he about to go but before she could say anything, he had walked straight into trouble.

That 'crap' was now all over the 'king's' crisp white shirt; Bella shook her head and stood, knowing this this wouldn't end well at all. The whole place went silent.

"I'm sor….." Paul exhaled angrily and held up his hand, cutting Alex off completely.  
"Watch where you're fucking going!" He roared over the silent cafeteria; every eye in the place was trained on the scene unfolding.

Alex blinked and he tried to apologise again.

"Who the fuck_ are_ you, anyways?" Paul asked as he stepped forward so they were chest to chest.  
"Alex, it's my first day." Bella was impressed that he was standing his ground.

Paul swore under his breath before grabbing hold of Alex's collar and pulling him up to his level.  
"That's enough." Bella ordered as he pulled his fist back; it stopped mid-air.

"Don't get involved Bella." Jared spat at her; she looked at him before pulling a handkerchief from the back pocket of her overalls and wiped at her face.

"Was spitting all over me really necessary?" She asked seriously; gasps filled the cafeteria and Jared pulled his head back a little in shock.

Paul hadn't moved his eyes away from Alex yet.  
"Leave him alone Paul." She advised; he turned to her, looked her up and down and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, well, well Bella Swan; who even knew you even had a voice?" He asked, earning some sniggers.

"Leave him alone." She repeated, not letting anything shake her confidence.

"What are you gonna do, Swan?" He asked as he held Alex a little higher.

"Me? I'm not gonna do anything; it was a simple request." She told him; keeping her cool like she always did. Slowly he lowered Alex's body to the ground; his eyes never left hers.  
Bella watched as Paul walked a full circle around her body before stalking off. His face was hard as stone.

"You okay?" Bella asked as she tried to help Alex from the floor; he nodded and wiped down his clothes.  
"Thanks." He told her; she shrugged.

"Yeah, well."

**Thoughts?  
Please tell me what you thought of it.  
Thanks for reading. ****  
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PLEASE no flames.**


	2. Cookies

Bella's eyes fluttered open and she stared up at the white ceiling; she tried to stand up slowly, swaying and stumbling on the way.

When she finally made it, she turned to her latest masterpiece and smiled drunkly; it was a battlefield of some sort, there were giant wolves, teeth bared, hair standing on end; poised and ready to attack.

They were standing alongside a few people, four males and three females. They looked kind of familiar, she was sure she had seen them somewhere before.

Bella moved forward and took a closer look; her eye brows furrowed and her finger came up and dabbed at the wet paint on their faces softly. She looked at her hand and nodded.

Just what she had thought.

Glitter.

But why?

Why were these people glittery?

She looked over at the other side; there were more glittery people, many many more but no wolves. Bella took a step back and looked at it properly, it was really nothing special.

Plus, it had no meaning; it was just a picture of what looked like a soon to be fight. Bella shook her head, wondering where in her mind this had even come from.

She shivered and looked over at her small kit with a needle precariously balanced on top. Her hands shook as there were still remnants of the drug in her system.

She wiped her excessively sweaty forehead before walking through to the living room…. If you could call it that.

There were no couches, or TVs or chairs like a normal lounge.

Bella's room was full of easels and canvases; most of them were painted already.

On one side were the paintings she had done when she was sober and on the other were paintings she had done when she was _unaware._

Bella bit her bottom lip guiltily.

She had been a user for the last two years, at first it was an accident, she just wanted to try for the sake of it, you know?

But when she came to that very first time, she had created the best painting she had ever done. It was a girl whom she didn't know sitting in the corner of a bedroom with her head in her hands.

It was simple yet elegant, so much so that it had sold at the monthly art fair for two thousand dollars. Bella had almost had a heart attack that day.

She stared back at the waxing moon and smiled despite herself; she wondered how Charlie would feel if he found out that she was a user.

He would have probably arrested her by now if he were still alive, she could see his disappointed face now.

_What would Isaac think?_

He'd probably tell her to stop, claiming that it was a bad habit when he did the same thing; he was the reason she decided to try it in the first place.

She saw him shoot up once while visiting his loft in New York; he thought she had gone to bed but luckily that wasn't the case.

Bella watched from the doorway as he stabbed the needle into his arm and tossed his head back as the poison entered his body; the syringe dropped to the floor and his head lowered slowly.

She gasped when she saw his eyes, they were pure white as if he had cataracts; Bella blinked to make sure she was awake.

She was.

Isaac moved over the paints and got to work; the way his hands moved in that state reminded her of those stupid ballet recitals Renee used to force her to watch when she was little.

Bella watched her brother for about an hour until he finally collapsed; she stepped over his body and sighed in admiration at the masterpiece he had created.

An eclipse painted in blue and white; so simple yet so brilliant.

She would never forget that painting, it really was something; better than anything he had ever done before.

Better than those stupid _ninth wander_ comics he drew for a living.

She wanted that painting when he died but it still hadn't been released from police custody; they said that anything in the loft was evidence that could have been linked to his murder.

Water pooled in her eyes as she turned away from the night and picked up one of the two framed pictures on the mantle.

It was of her and Isaac about a year and a half ago, she was on his back and they were both laughing; probably because of Renee's camera skills…. Or lack thereof.

She really _was _bad at taking pictures. They were both bent to one side; an half of Isaac's head was chopped off.

How ironic.

Bella couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed; in fact she couldn't remember the last time she'd even smiled genuinely.

Nothing interested her anymore, nothing really grabbed at her soul like before; when her brother had died, he had taken her happiness with him.

The only thing he had left her with was art, which was why she would never stop painting.

Bella removed her apron and washed her hands frantically; when she was done, she started to remove all of her baking supplies from her cupboard plus some chocolate chips from the fridge.

Bella prepared the batter and placed the baking tray in the oven; she sat on the counter for thirty minutes in silence until they were ready. Bella took them out of the oven and smiled; they were perfect.

Disfigured, a little runny and…

She took a small bite….

….Yes! Utterly tasteless.

Just the way Isaac used to make; she smiled. These cookies were about the only thing he could cook, everything else caught fire. She smiled as she chewed slowly, savouring the moment.

**Thoughts?  
Please tell me what you thought of it.  
Thanks for reading. ****  
Character pics on my page.  
You know what to do….  
If you don't… It's REVIEW!****  
PLEASE no flames.**


	3. Arrogance

Bella smiled as she opened her little topple ware container, she had four left over cookies from yesterday so she thought bring them to school for lunch.

She took one out and bit into it.

How could something so disgusting be so delicious?

"Look who it is." Bella put half a cookie back into her container and sighed exasperatedly. Here comes Paul to ruin the day, just when things were starting to look up. The whole cafeteria was quiet all of a sudden.

"What do you have there, Swan?" Paul asked her. Bella refused to look up, instead she picked her cookie back up again and began to eat in silence until a large hand appeared in front of her eyes but it was gone as soon as it came.

She looked up and her eyes homed in on the small chocolate chipped thing in Paul's hand; she was confused for a moment but then her eyes widened.

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no. _

She watched as it disappeared whole into his mouth, a second later he spat it out all over her face and hair, gasps overtook the large hall; Bella was shocked, she couldn't even move.

"Urgh, that tastes like shit, damn." Paul laughed; she didn't respond, she didn't even move.

"Seriously, tell your mom to make em better next time; I swear they taste like crap." He told her seriously; she squeezed her eyes shut in frustration as she felt his hot breath on her neck.

"Trust me when I say I'm doing you a favour." He whispered before nipping at her ear.

She still didn't move; her mind was almost completely blank and the only thing she could think of was the small chocolate chip in front of her on the table next to her container.

Flashback (Five years ago)

"Here, try it." Isaac nudged Bella as he handed her the misshapen cookie; she looked at it in disgust before smiling sheepishly.

"What do you want me to do with it?" She asked in a small voice; he threw his head back and laughed at the stupid question.

"I want you to eat it." He told her clearly; she turned it over in her hand and furrowed her eye brows.

"Are you sure? _It doesn't look safe_." She whispered the last part; he chuckled again and picked up another one from the wire rack and bit into it. Bella followed his lead and pushed the whole thing into her mouth.

"What do you think?" Isaac asked her after he swallowed thickly; she tried to put on a smile just for his sake.

"It's great." _It's horrible_. She said and thought at the same time; the smile he gave her way worth it though.

"Really?" He asked her, she smiled and nodded.

"Yes, really." _No!__  
_

"Good, then I'll make them for you every time I see you, I promise." He told her as he engulfed her in a hug and kissed her forehead; Bella closed her eyes and cherished the contact she would probably have to live without for another six months.

"I'd like that." She told him truthfully as she squeezed her brother tighter…

End of flashback

Bella's thoughts were interrupted.

"I'm fucking talking to you!" Paul roared as he grabbed hold of her plastic container and flung it across the cafeteria; Bella stood up and ran after it.

She fell to her knees beside the debris and searched through them frantically, tears leaking from her eyes.

They were all ruined, every single one.

With shaking hands she picked up the container which was somehow still in shape and began to put the pieces back into the bowl in silence.

"Oh, so that got your attention? Huh?" She kept her head down and wandered why the world was so cruel until somebody stepped in front of her; she didn't need to look up to see who it was.

The sneakers were crisp white and obviously very expensive.

Plus, the jeans were thick and rich in colour, also obviously expensive and probably brand new.

_Paul._

She watched as he stamped on a large piece of one of her cookies and ground it into the floor; more silent tears leaked from Bella's eyes and she looked up to him with a murderous glare.

"Oh shit, don't tell me you're crying over this; you're even more retarded than I thought." He laughed; her eyes widened as she dropped the container and stood up slowly.

Her eyeliner was running down her face and her hair was wild; that coupled with her expression made her nothing less than frightening.

"Don't cry, Swan…." Paul told her as he picked a crumb from her hair and flicked it away with a smirk; his hand moved from her face and over her soft cheek.

"You're much more beautiful when you're smiling." He told her quietly; Bella slapped his arm away in disgust and his face went hard again.

"Besides, you're not_ that_ poor…. I'm sure you can buy some more, cookies aren't _that _expensive." He told her in a syrupy voice. Bella's wide brown eyes snapped to his as she stepped forward towards him.

"And what would **you** know about the price of **anything**? You're just a _**good for nothing spoiled brat**_ who's never worked for anything in his life!..." She shouted; the cafeteria was a whole different kind of silent now.

Mouths were ajar.

None of them had ever seen anything like this before; nobody stood up to Paul.

Ever.

Bella put her right foot in front of her left and thrust both her arms into the air; her long sleeves retreated to her elbow.  
"….Don 't think you're better than me!" She screamed as she pulled her right arm down and swung it sideways towards his face; it collided with a bang. Paul spun once before plummeting to the floor. Bella didn't stay to watch what happened next; instead she grabbed her backpack and newly painted canvas before marching out of the cafeteria and into the parking lot.

She opened the door to her beaten down red truck and got inside; this vehicle wasn't her first choice but it was handy when she needed to carry materials for any sculptures she wanted to make from the junk yard.

The tires screeched as she made her way out of the parking lot and onto the main road towards the hospital.

She was pretty sure that her hand was sprained.

**Thoughts?  
Please tell me what you thought of it.  
Thanks for reading. ****  
Character pics on my page.  
You know what to do….  
If you don't… It's REVIEW!****  
PLEASE no flames.**


	4. Understanding

Bella ignored the stares she was getting from everyone at school; she didn't really care what anyone thought.

Besides, the only thing she could think about was the severe pain she was now experiencing in her right hand.

She made her way to homeroom after dumping her unnecessary books in her locker; the class was silent as soon as she walked in.

More staring.

Bella sat down in her seat and propped her head up on her elbow when someone leaned over to her.

She sighed in irritation before looking up.

She had next to no idea who it was although she frowned as he kind of reminded her of Paul; tall and muscular.

"How's your hand?" He asked her with a panty dropping smile; Bella blushed a little and looked down. After all, she was still a girl; she knew a hot guy when she saw one.

"It hurts." She mumbled; he chuckled and grabbed it softly before bringing it to his lips and kissing it tenderly. Bella blushed even more.

"That was quite a right hook you had on you yesterday." He told her, still holding her hand.

"You saw that?" He smirked at her.

"_Everybody_ saw that." He told her, putting emphasis on the word 'everybody'.

"Right." She breathed as she rubbed at her forehead.

"…..I don't usually punch people, I've never punched anyone but he makes me so mad." She told him, he smiled softly and nodded.

"Those cookies, they weren't_ just_ cookies were they?" He asked her seriously. Bella shook her head.

Because they weren't.

"He deserved that punch; it's been a long time coming." She was relieved; she thought people would start to think of her as some kind of new age Rocky.

"Where is Paul anyway?" She asked this stranger; Bella thought of asking for his name but how lame would that be? She's probably been in his homeroom for years. The guy suddenly looked a little nervous.

"I dunno." He answered her but she wasn't convinced, there was apprehension in his voice.  
"I left right after you threw the punch." He told her; she nodded and was about to speak when someone cleared their throat.

Bella looked up and blinked; what was with that stare?

Qahla's eyes were glued to the space on the table where the unknown hunk had placed his hand over hers. Her eye twitched.

She glared at the boy until he released Bella's hand.

Qahla growled.

His eyes widened and he cracked a smile.

Bella raised an eyebrow.

"You okay?" She asked as she poked the other girl; Qahla moved her eyes from the guy to Bella and smiled a little.

"Uh, yeah." Then she turned back to the guy. "You know, that's my seat Embry."

Her face turned hard as stone.

**"…Move."**

_So his name is Embry?_ Bella thought.

Embry chuckled and held both his hands up before backing away from the girls. Qahla didn't take her eyes off him until he settled on the other side of the room. Then she could relax.

"What was that about?" She asked Bella, trying to sound casual.

"Nothing much."

Qahla wasn't convinced.

~~~3~~~~

"So that's what happened." Bella mused as she painted; Alex nodded from beside her.

"It's weird though, the way he was shaking, it wasn't natural. He must have been on some kind of drug." Bella stiffened a little. _Naturally._

"… It was just too weird….. And those guys who pulled him into the woods were like twenty five. What the hell were they doing at this school?" Bella shrugged.

"These men that pulled Paul away, were they shirtless?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Did they have short hair and a tattoo?" She finished.

"Yes." Alex answered surely.

"I see." Bella replied as she dipped her brush into the red paint again and smeared it all over the canvas.

"That's really good." Alex told her sincerely; she raised an eyebrow.

"It's a scribble; I'm just testing the new brushes." She answered dryly; he looked a little sheepish.

"Oh."

**Thoughts?****  
I know it was short guys :-P****  
Please tell me what you thought of it.  
Thanks for reading.  
Character pics on my page.  
You know what to do….  
If you don't… It's REVIEW!  
PLEASE no flames******


	5. Strange

It seemed like things were finally looking up for Bella; her hand was no longer in pain, her newest painting had sold for three hundred bucks at the art show this weekend past and she hadn't seen Paul for the last two weeks.

Yes siree, things were looking _good._

Bella slammed her truck door, making sure that it didn't jam and made her way towards the school entrance.

"Bella!" Her eye brows furrowed and she turned to the direction of where the voice was coming from.

Oh, it was just him.

"Hey Jake." She greeted him; his smile grew excessively wide as he approached her.

Bella thought that Jacob Black was a nice boy, but that was all he was to her.

A boy.

She didn't necessarily want to hang out with him the way she knew that he wanted; their two year difference in age was a big factor, not to mention that they had absolutely nothing in common.

He liked to fix cars, she liked to paint.

He liked to hang out with his friends, she liked to paint.

He probably wanted to date her; she _really_ didn't want that.

"How's it going?" He asked her; she shrugged lightly and tried to be polite.

"It's okay, I guess; you?" Bella replied.

"I'm great." He told her; she nodded awkwardly and adjusted her backpack.

The bell rang and she looked towards the building before all of the other students in the parking lot began to approach it.

Lessons were starting in five minutes.

"Shall we go?" She asked, figuring that they might as well walk together; Jake shook his head.

"No, I've got gym first so I'll catch you later?" She nodded her head and began to walk away; she had only gone about five metres away before he called her again.

She turned around but kept walking backwards so that she wouldn't be late.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out some time?" He called out, using his hands as a make believe megaphone. Bella laughed and did the same.

"Okay!" She replied; he flashed her his regular smile before running in the opposite direction towards the gym hall.

Bella's smile faded when she realised that she had just agreed to spend time with Jacob Black.

What was she thinking?

She wasn't thinking at all, that's what she was thinking.

Urgh, she got caught up in the megaphone hands. **Dammit!**

Bella pouted a little and turned on her heel, only to crash into something really hard yet really warm; she bounced off like a rubber band ball and fell onto the floor.

"Watch where you're going!" A man told her in an irritated voice; she didn't recognise it at all. Bella laid there for a second, stunned.

"Jesus Paul, at least help her up!" A warm hand touched her face and she blinked a few times; it brushed against her cheek before removing the hair that was impairing her vision.

She could finally see properly.

The guy from the other day was hovering over her; Embry was it?

He smiled at her and offered her a hand.

"Thank-you." Bella told him before taking his hot hand and allowing him to pull her up.

But he pulled her a little too hard.

She slammed into his chest and just stood there; it didn't hurt at all but it was sudden. She pulled back slowly, feeling a little more than awkward.

"Sorry Bella…. I guess I don't know my own strength yet." Bella was sure that she wasn't supposed to hear the last part.

But she did.

"It's okay." She blushed; they two of them shared a moment before they were so rudely interrupted.

"Oh it's **you**." Bella didn't even need to turn her head to know who that was; even though the tone was that of a man's now, the pure hatred in his voice could never be mistaken.

_Paul Meraz. _

Just when you thought it was safe to_ believe_ you could be happy from now on.

Bella conjured up the dirtiest look she could muster and turned his way; what she saw though shocked her so much that it freed her face of all emotion.

Surely this couldn't be Paul, no way was this Paul.

If it is then he must have taken some miracle grow because this shit just wasn't natural.

He was huge!

He had to be around the same height as the other guy but still; he was insanely muscled now, it looked pretty good in his tight black t-shirt.

His face was more mature and his features more angular.

Her eyes travelled up to his again but this time she noticed that his mouth was slacked.

"Aww come on man, I actually like her." Bella turned back to the other guy again and her eye brows furrowed; was he talking about her?

"Did I hurt you?" She stood still with wide eyes as Paul examined her. _**What. The. Hell?**_

"What's the matter with you? Get the fuck away from me!" They were supposed to be arch enemies and here he was, examining her body; checking for cuts and bruising.

His eyes narrowed a little at her question but softened quickly.

"Sorry." Huh? So now he's apologising? Okay, this was a whole new kind of messed up.

She looked at him with disgust once more before nodding at the other guy next to him and weaving around them, making her way towards the school.

Once she got inside the building, she shivered; that was more than creepy.

-333-

Bella dipped her paintbrush in the red paint and smeared it across the polar bear's face…

_Huh, red?_ She wasn't supposed to use red.

She growled at herself and all but threw the brush back into the colour stained water pot.

Bella couldn't concentrate.

Of course she couldn't.

She looked over to her right for the fifteenth time within the minute and scowled.

He was _still_ staring at her, what was that even about?

His behaviour in the car lot was strange enough without this.

Bella quit the inconspicuous side glances and swivelled her stool so that she was facing him; he seemed a little surprised by her actions but his eyes never left her.

Bella leaned forward in her chair and stared back with narrowed eyes, hoping that it would alert him to the fact that she could see him staring at her and he would hopefully stop.

But no, instead he leaned forward the same way as she did and gave her a crooked smile and a wink.

She gave up.

"Will you stop staring at me already, Meraz?" She asked quite loudly; Paul blinked twice when she spoke as if it was the most nonsensical thing that he had ever heard.

Her lip curled up in disgust and his eyes softened; he looked sad.

This made Bella even more confused, what was this sick game about?

No shouting?

No cussing?

No stupid Paul- like innuendos?

What the hell was happening?

Bella looked back at her canvas and scowled again; what was supposed to be a simple white and grey panda sitting near a bamboo tree now looked like some kind of wildlife massacre.

She gritted her teeth together; this piece may have been a little clique but she was hoping to sell it at the art fair this weekend coming.

Bella turned to Paul and scowled again, what was he doing here anyway?

She knew that she was a little out of it but she was ninety-nine percent sure that he was never in her art class before.

-333-

Bella chewed slowly on her boring cheese and ham sandwich while looking around the cafeteria with worried eyes; she exhaled when she realised that Paul was nowhere to be seen.

Bella smiled to herself and took another bite of her sandwich.

That was of course until a large shadow was cast over her table; she scowled at it_ and_ herself because she couldn't help but remember that day when he had trampled all over her brother's cookies.

Bella clenched her fist and squeezed her eyes shut before relaxing completely and looking up. Surprise. Surprise.

"What now?" Bella all but growled; Paul narrowed his eyes. She stared at him with the nastiest look she could muster but he took no notice.

"Here. Take this." He ordered her.

Paul pulled his hands from behind his back and placed a package on Bella's lunch table; it was a medium sized box wrapped in luxurious pink wrapping paper with a baby blue bow across both sides.

"What is it?" Bella asked with an uninterested twang to her voice; Paul sighed and pulled up a chair; sitting way closer to Bella than she was comfortable with.

"You're never fucking happy are you?" He asked with a grunt; Bella snorted. _Sure, she was never happy….. When he was around._

"Aren't you gonna open it?" Paul snapped.

Bella turned away from him and took a bite from her sandwich.

"No." She grumbled. Why would she want anything from him? She hated him with a passion.

"Just open it." Bella rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"If I open it will you go away?" She bargained; Paul smirked at her.

That was definitely the nicest thing that she had said to him since he had imprinted on her.

"For a little while." He answered even though he knew that it wasn't true. Bella exhaled and grabbed the beautifully wrapped gift roughly, tearing away at the paper.

Soon she was left with a small white cardboard box; she lifted the lid and pulled back pink tissue paper. Then her mouth dropped open.

"Well?" Paul grunted; Bella's right eye twitched. In her hands, she held a box of perfectly shaped milk chocolate chip cookies. Her head was cocked slightly to the side.

"Well?" Paul prompted; but this time his voice didn't sound as certain.

Bella was seething, what was he trying to do here? Piss her off? Well, if that was his goal then he really was succeeding.

Or worse, did he think that she would forgive him because he baked her some perfect looking cookies? Bella hadn't even realised that Paul was talking.

"…..= I got them flown in fresh this morning from Paris an…." Her eye twitched again.

"Flown in?" She repeated. Bella laughed despite herself and ran her hand through her long hair.

"Wow, just when I thought you couldn't get any worse." She breathed. He hadn't even had the decency to make them himself.

"You thought I would forgive you because you flew these in from Paris?" she asked him as she crumbled one in her hand, creating quite a mess.

"What the hell are you doing, Swan?" Paul raised his voice as he stared down at the crumbs all over his new jeans. Bella crumbled another one.

"Stop it!" He snapped. "Do you have any idea how much those cost?" Bella laughed at him and stood up before dropping the rest of the cookies on the floor and stamping all over them.

By this time, the whole cafeteria was staring at her with wide eyes and mouths ajar.

"Why don't you tell me how much they cost, Paul? Huh?" Bella asked while she wiped angrily at the tears on her cheeks. Paul looked up at Bella from his seat with a sad expression.

"Bella." The pain in his voice almost made her regret what she had done. **Almost.**

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	6. Even

"Bella stop."

_"Please… stop."_

"**Bella."**

She finally stopped on the dirt road and turned to him.

She was tired, her knees weak from a day at school.

She just wanted to go home in peace.

But no.

Obviously, he wasn't going to allow her to ignore him for any longer.

But Bella was done.

She was at her limit.

"What? What could you possibly want from me, Paul? Why won't you just leave me alone?"

For reasons unknown to her, tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Well?" She snapped when he said nothing.

"Bella I…"

"**Shut up!** I am tired of your bullshit! I just wanna be alone again! I don't want you to be everywhere I go!" She screamed, her voice cracking a little.

Paul stared back at her, his eyes hollow.

She felt as if he was looking into her soul.

They stared at each other for a while until she finally cracked.

"I don't understand. Why would you be mean to me? What have I ever done to you?" She knew that she sounded like a child right now but she also couldn't care less.

Then it was quiet again; for the longest time.

"What is this about?" her voice sounded tired; as if she had no fight left in her what so ever.

"I want you."

She stared at him, unsure of what to do.

"I want to get to know you." He corrected himself before he scared her off.

"Why?"

"Because I want to make peace with you… because I don't want you to hate me."

Bella stood and stared at him; he seemed genuine but could she really trust him? That was the question that haunted her.

She felt like she could trust him.

"So your cookies, they were like a peace offering?" She finally understood.

"Yes!" He replied as if he had been waiting for her to catch on for days. "I wasn't trying to piss you off Bella, I swear."

She watched him, looking for any signs of untruth.

She didn't find any.

"Ok." She answered him. "Well, see you around…" She turned on her heel before her arm was gripped and pulled back gently.

"Don't leave yet… I haven't been close to you for so long." Bella was sure that she wasn't supposed to have heard the last bit, but she did.

The wind blew through her hair and she shivered.

Then he embraced her; the cold fled from her body.

Her cheeks flamed and she tried to push him away…. But he held onto her tighter.

"Don't fight me, Bella. Just enjoy the contact." He told her as if he knew something she didn't.

"Paul, let me go!" She struggled but it was no use; he just held her even tighter.

"I-I can't breathe!" Paul loosened his hold just a little.

"Please Bella, don't push me away. I just need…" He didn't finish his sentence.

She had never heard him sound so vulnerable.

Bella's struggles decreased to nothing; she felt like he needed this.

She wasn't sure why, but she'd give it to him.

"… Stop following me around." She mumbled into his shoulder after a while.

"I don't."

"Yes, you do. You're always watching me. Even when I can't see you." She grumbled.

"And how would you know that?"

"I dunno, I just now okay."

He chuckled in reply.

"You know, this doesn't mean anything. I still hate you." The wind blew and she clutched onto him. She hated the wind.

"I know, Bella."

Over the next few days, Bella tried not to think about what had happened, whenever she did her cheeks flamed.

After that day, whenever she saw Paul in school, he'd wave at her or come over and ask about how her day had been.

Most of the time, he'd give her a hug.

Sometimes she'd look forward to it. Those times were becoming more frequent.

There was something about his touch that made her feel like everything was okay. It made her feel safe for once.

He didn't actually bother her as much as before.

She was actually starting to like him; he turned out to be a cool guy.

But there was still a part of her that hated him, and whenever he was around the memory of him stamping all over her brother's cookies with his designer shoes popped up in her head.

It was like a love/ hate relationship but only on her side.

Or like/ hate relationship.

Or maybe tolerance/ hate relationship.

Bella jumped as a tray slammed on the table beside her, disturbing her thoughts.

"So you and Paul, huh?" Bella calmed as she saw who had made her jump.

"Oh, it's only you." She giggled at Qahla's stance. Her hands were balled and her body was rigid as if she was on a clothes hanger or something.

"Bella, you and Paul? Really? He's an asshole! And… and he sleeps with anything on legs! I'm pretty sure he has something…" Qahla's rant continued on for another half a minute.

"You done?"

"Yes." She replied as she flopped down onto a chair. A single tear fell from her eye but she rubbed it away before Bella could see it.

"There's nothing going on between me and Paul, Qahla. I guess we're kinda friends now?"

Qahla seemed to relax a little at that.

"Are you sure Bella?" She placed her hand on Bella's knee and peered up into her eyes. "Nothing's going on?"

"It's not like that."

**Later on that day: **

Bella looked over at the window again; what was that? Nothing.

But she could have sworn she that she saw something silver peering out to her house from the woods. A large animal? Probably.

Bella didn't mind too much, she had always been one for nature but this had been the fifth time that she'd seen this particular… whatever it was.

Something about it triggered a thought in her mind.

Where was her sketchpad?

She looked around the living room and in her backpack; it wasn't there.

Whatever. She thought; she'd get a new one tomorrow or something.

Bella turned her attention from the search and concentrated on what she was doing before, trying to stick a needle in her arm.

When she attached the little brown bottle as she always did, she realised that there was a little more in it than usual. Bella shrugged.

It should have been okay.

She exhaled as she squirted the liquid into her system and waited for her body to take over.

But this time it was different; Bella's body began to feel mighty heavy all of a sudden.

She swayed and held onto the easel to help her balance; instead she ended up pulling it on top of her instead.

Then it went black.

Bella's eyed fluttered openly slowly; she felt disorientated in the least.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she found herself, not where she had expected to be, on the floor of her living room, but in a hospital room.

She surveyed the room properly and thought; how did she end up here?

Why did she end up here?

Those were the questions that ran through her mind.

"What were you thinking?" Bella's eyes snapped to the left and widened.

Paul.

Why was he here?

Why was he everywhere she went?

And why was he half naked?

She had only just noticed that he was only wearing a pair of cut of Levi's.

Bella wanted to be angry.

She wanted to tell him to get out of this room… or preferably, her life…

But she didn't have the energy for that.

She was just tired.

"What were you thinking Bella?" This time his voice was a little louder and she was sure that she could feel the heat of his anger from where she was lying.

She looked away from him and frowned.

"It's none of your business."

"The hell it isn't!" He growled; she kept her eyes concentrated on the vase next to the window.

She refused to look at him.

Bella really just didn't have the energy.

He had no right to talk to her like that.

After a while she heard him stop pacing and sit down next to her on the chair.

He exhaled heavily.

"I just don't understand Bella. Why would you do that to your body… Your mind?" She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled her blanket up and over half of her face.

"You could have died, Bella." The pain in Paul's voice made her turn to him.

He looked kinda broken.

They were silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry Bella. I should have protected you, I should have been there faster…" Bella cut him off.

"Wait, you brought me here?" He nodded.

The wheels in Bella's head began to turn and she shuffled away from him a little.

"How did you know where I live? Why were you at my house? How did you know I collapsed?... Are you stalking me?" She asked all at once.

"Calm down Bella." Paul pleaded as he moved towards her.

She shuffled away some move but had to stop before she fell off of the bed.

"Don't tell me to calm down you… you perv!" Paul recoiled as if he had just been slapped.

_Perv?_

Perv?

He had been called a lot of things in his lifetime but 'perv' sure wasn't one of them.

"**Nurse! Doctor! Somebody!..."** She screamed; Bella needed this creep to get out her room _now_.

"**Hello? Anybody pl…"** A hot hand clamped over her mouth and she stopped talking.

"Shut up already!" Paul growled as he bent down next to his stool and picked something up.

It was Bella's sketchpad.

"I just came to return your sketchpad. You left it in the cafeteria." He grizzled before slowly removing his hand from her face.

She didn't start screaming again.

"Oh."

"Yes oh."

It hadn't occurred to her that she hadn't asked why he knew where her house was or how he got inside.

They were both silent for a while again.

But it was comfortable.

"Bella, can you promise me something?" She blinked in reply.

"Promise me you won't do it again." He pleaded.

She just wanted him to leave, and she was so tired.

So she gave him what he wanted.

"I promise."

"You're lying." He said surely; her eyes narrowed and then softened almost immediately.

"Yeah, I am." Bella's voice was tired.

"Please Bella." Paul pleaded as he moved closer to her, cupping her hand in his.

She looked down at their hands, feeling a little guilty and then back at his face.

"I can't." Her voiced cracked as she answered.

She _couldn't_ stop.

"I can help you, Bella. I'll help you."

She wanted to laugh but she could see the seriousness in his eyes.

"Paul, I'm fine." Bella whispered, a lone tear ran down her face.

Paul shook his head.

"Look around you Bella. You're in a hospital bed. Does that seem fine to you?" He asked her seriously; she shook her head and more tears fell.

Soon, she was wailing as she cried.

"Shh." Paul soothed her as he sat behind her in her bed; her back leaning on his hot, broad chest.

She didn't even see him move.

The tears must have been clouding her vision.

"You're okay Bella." He whispered.

After a while her breathing calmed, and the tears stopped.

He rubbed his hand over her thin back and whispered to her again.

"This doesn't change anything, you know. I still hate you." Bella sniffled as she turned into his body, trying to get as close to him as possible.

He relaxed her.

Made her feel safe.

"I know Bella." Paul answered.

**Thoughts?  
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	7. Ride

**A.N. Hey guys, some people left me messages about the last chapter asking whether or not Bella overdosed or whether Paul was overreacting. I wrote it this way on purpose, because I wanted to leave it to you guys to choose which one you preferred. **

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are you taking that?" Bella asked Paul as he proceeded to the door with a tray full of little brown bottles.

"Where does it look like I'm taking it?" He snapped; she chased after him, struggling to keep up. Her body was still weak as she had only been discharged this morning.

Lying in a bed for three days did nothing for her joints.

"You can't! That's worth like a thousand dollars!" She shrieked; he turned to her and her heart almost stopped.

His whole body demanded that she'd listen to him.

"Well, I'll give you the money for it so relax but this is not staying anywhere near you. How did you even get this much anyway? You know, if the police ever found this in your house, you'd be going inside." He lectured her.

"I don't care! You have no right to do this!" She told him; all she could do was talk.

She may have been a little clueless but she wasn't stupid enough to think that she could stop him physically.

Bella pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

He walked over and kissed her pouty lips.

She stood there frozen; it took her a while to get over it.

"Don't pout, Bella." He told her before walking out of the door with her stash.

"Don't kiss me, asshole." She retorted before wiping furiously at her mouth.

Her small fists clenched.

He was actually getting rid of it.

_Asshole. _

She should have known that he had had an ulterior motive when he offered to drive her home from the hospital.

Well, she guessed that it couldn't be helped.

Her truck was at home, so there was no other way for her to get back.

How did he even find her heroin anyway?

_Asshole._

She waited in the kitchen until she heard him enter the house again.

By then she had calmed down.

"You want something to drink?" She called.

"Sure, water would be great." She was kind of surprised; he had actually picked water.

For some reason, she was expecting him to ask for red wine from 1922 or something equally as expensive.

She laughed at herself.

That's just stupid.

Bella got his water, and was pouring hot water into her green tea when….

"What is this?" Paul asked as he brought a painting of a pack of large wolves into the kitchen.

Bella shrugged.

"I dunno… One of my paintings I guess…"

"You guess?" He repeated as if he couldn't comprehend what she was saying.

"Why did you paint this?"

Bella shrugged again as she sipped at her green tea.

"Come on Bella, I need to know why you painted this." Paul told her; the urgency in his voice didn't make any sense to Bella.

She shrugged yet again.

"I don't know, okay? Sometimes I just draw things. Things I can't really explain… I was high." She replied, a little embarrassed.

He stared at her for a minute.

"Huh."

"I'm tired." She suddenly announced; Paul walked towards her and picked her up like a new bride.

"Why did you pick me up?" She asked him as he started towards the stairs.

"Because you're tired and weak; there's no way you could make it all the way up these stairs." He told her; she laughed.

"I'm sure I would have been fine."

"Yeah, yeah."

He walked straight through to her bedroom without asking where it was; it smelled so much like her.

Paul placed her under the duvet and tucked her in before kissing her forehead.

Bella unintentionally leaned into his touch.

When his lips left her, she shivered.

It was suddenly really cold.

"You cold?" He asked her.

_It was_ early December.

"Yeah, actually can you pass me a sweater from that draaa-oh my god…" She was cut off as he slipped under the covers with her; she wasn't sure that she even saw him move.

She must have been really out of it.

He held her close and she snugged into his chest.

"Sleep now." He murmured.

Bella woke up a few hours after that at around seven p.m.

It was cold again.

And he was gone.

But she could still see the indent of his body.

She could still feel his heat.

Bella casually scooted over to his side and tried to fall asleep again.

**The next day**

Bella was tired; she hadn't slept very well last night, it was just too _cold._

She shivered as she walked through the cold dirt roads of La Push for the first time in five days on her way to school; she really regretted not taking her truck today.

She snorted.

As if she could take her truck; the stupid thing just wouldn't start.

It always got like that in the winter.

She cursed when it started to rain and sped up but school was still over fifteen minutes away.

She was going to soak.

Great, sometimes she really hated La Push; at least she was off to Florida tomorrow to visit her mom.

_Hmm, sunshine. _

That would probably be fun.

A blue Porsche stopped in front of her on the dirt road; please let it be someone she knew.

The front window rolled down and her face dropped.

"Need a ride?" Paul asked her with a slick and mocking tone to his voice; Bella blinked twice.

"No. I don't think so." She replied as she walked around the car and back on her path to school.

She shook her head with disbelief, sure he had helped her out before but it didn't mean that she liked him.

It just meant that they were now even.

She heard a car door slam behind her so she sped up without looking back.

"_Bella_." The voice pleaded; she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Bella, you'll catch a cold." She rolled her eyes; he sounded like her mother.

**"Bella."** She stopped with a grunt as her arm was pulled back softly; she turned to see Paul behind her with a neutral but sad expression.

"Let go of my arm." She told him forcefully, he shook his head.

"Not until you get in the car; it's not good for you to be in the rain, you were only discharged yesterday, remember?" She flinched at his words; she was trying _not_ to remember.

So she ignored him.

"There's just no fucking _peace_ with you is there? No more Mr. Fucking Nice Guy. You're **not **walking to school in this weather." Bella didn't even have time to comprehend the words before she was swept off of her feet and over his shoulder like a bag of spuds.

Before she knew what was happening they were already travelling back towards his car. What the hell did he think he was doing? She asked him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked him as she beat her tiny fist against his muscled back. She squealed when he hit her butt. It stung.

"Relax Bella, we don't need people coming out of their homes because of your unnecessary noise now do we?" He asked her.

"Fuck you." She mumbled; he chuckled and squeezed her ass this time.

"Anytime." Bella's face flushed red.

_Asshole._

He placed her lightweight body down into the passenger seat of his Porsche and closed her door before getting into the driver's side.

She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look at him.

"You cold?" He asked her, she didn't answer; instead she squealed when her body was lifted and laced into his lap.

Bella stayed still, she did in fact feel a lot warmer in his arms; she moved even closer to his body. He felt so comfortable. So right.

"What were you thinking anyway? Walking in that rain… you have a truck." He scolded; Bella rolled her eyes.

"I was gonna cut through the woods anyway, it wouldn't have taken that long." She justified; his arm curved around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Will you do something for me, Bella?" She didn't answer.

"Don't go into the woods, there are things in there that you don't understand. Dangerous things." Bella wanted to laugh at how serious he sounded.

Was he really talking about La Push?

In those woods?

The most wildlife she'd seen was an obese squirrel eating waffle fries.

Now that was _wild_.

"I'm serious Bella." He told her as if he could sense her amusement.

"Whatever." She answered, turning over in his lap to grab her bag from the back seat before moving back to the passenger's side.

"You can just stop here. Thanks." She almost muttered the last bit; Paul's eyebrows furrowed.

"Bella, school's a block away from here." She nodded.

"Yep, but this is my stop; don't want people getting the wrong idea." She told him as she looked out of each window to make sure that no one was around.

"What? You don't want people to think we're together?" Paul asked her with a chuckle as he pulled the car to a halt.

"Exactly…" Bella started as she got out, closed the door behind her and leaned through the window. Luckily, the rain had eased up but it was not that fine rain that you couldn't really feel but somehow you got really wet.

She frowned at Paul's face, he looked a little rejected.

"Hey, it's not like you do 'together' anyway, right? What was it you said that girl with too much make-up on that one time in front of everyone? Oh yeah, you 'hit it and quick it.'" She answered with actual air quotes; Paul's face dropped.

"I'm not like that anymore, Bella." He told her, there wasn't a trace of humour in his voice.

"I'll never be like that again." He promised; Bella stared at him for a little while before whistling awkwardly.

"Well, that's nice to know; thanks for the ride." She said before backing away from the car and walking towards school.

As she watched him drive away, tiny rain drops pelted at her forehead.

She frowned.

Not again.

Soon enough, a car pulled up in front of her again.

This one was different.

"Bella?" Qahla called; Bella smiled a little.

"Hey."

"Oh my God Bella get in." She said in a hurry; Bella jumped into the passengers' seat, shaking her head like a wet dog and shivering a little.

"Are you okay?" Qahla asked, her hand on Bella's thigh and her head peering under the wet hair which was now stuck to Bella's face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for stopping."

Qahla smiled brightly.

"No problem…. More importantly, where have you been anyway? I was really worried."

Bella cringed.

"I've been a little ill is all. Nothing special, just flu." She lied; Qahla nodded.

"You should have called me, I could have made you some chicken soup or something and come round to look after you." Anyone could easily feel the happiness rolling off of Qahla at this point.

That would have been the ideal scenario for her.

The thought of nursing Bella back to health made her blush.

**Thoughts?  
Please tell me what you ****think of Qahla and her motives.****  
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	8. Florida

Bella smiled as she reached the large family home; she could remember living here when she was little.

As she walked up to the front door; the pain in her chest became worse.

It was like intense heart burn but… not.

_She missed Paul_.

Bella shook her head, _no she didn't. _

She loved Florida and she loved to visit her mom.

So why couldn't she get Paul out of her mind?

Bella tried to forget for at least a second before she reached the front door.

"Mom." She called as she pushed the door open.

"Bella? Bella!" Renee called as she appeared in the hallway.

"Mom. I've missed you." Bella breathed as she embraced her mother; she stroked her brown hair twice.

"I waited for you, Bella." Renee told her with a childish smile; Bella smiled as tears fell from her eyes.

"I know mom, I'm here now." She smiled.

"Are you here to take me home, now?" Bella swallowed thickly.

"Mom, you know I can't do that. Not until you get better. You'll get better and I'll take you home, soon okay?" She promised; Renee froze with a frown on her face.

"Why do you wanna go home anyway, mom?" Bella asked with a fake laugh as she skipped through the warm house.

"…Florida is amazing. It's so sunny here, mom. And there's a beach right next door. I wish I could live here." She mused; Renee shook her head violently.

"Mom, stop that. Mom, stop." Her voice cracked as she pleaded; she pulled her mother into her body and held her tight enough that she couldn't move.

From the corner of her eye she could see Phil, standing in the kitchen and looking at the two of them with cautious eyes.

"I don't wanna live here, Bella. I wanna go back home, I wanna see Charlie. I wanna see Isaac." She shouted. Bella's eyes squeezed shut and tears left them.

"I know mom but dad and Isaac aren't here anymore. We talked about this." She reminded Renee; her mom held onto her body tighter and cried.

"It's not fair." She sobbed.

"No mom, it isn't."

"They don't understand, Bella. Going home, being at home in the only thing that's gonna fix me. It's the only thing that can help me get better. It's not fair…"

"No mom, it isn't."

**Later on **

"How is she?" Bella asked Phil before taking a sip of her water.

"She's doing better, Bella but she has good days and bad days." He answered, reading through his notes from the past month.

"Thank-you Phil, for everything you've done for her." She said to him; he cracked a smile, his eyes wrinkling at the side as he did so.

"It's nothing. I'm just doing my job." He reassured her; Bella nodded but she thought otherwise.

For the past two years, ever since Renee's state of mind had taken a turn for the worst, Phil had been her main carer.

Bella was more thankful than he would ever know; she regretted that she didn't have the time to look after her mother.

She had tried it, she thought about leaving school to take care of her mother but unfortunately it wasn't in Renee's best interest.

Bella thought it had something to do with the resemblance she bore to both Isaac and Charlie that made Renee react to her in odd, sometimes violent ways.

That was why she only came to visit once every three months or so and she only ever stayed for a weekend at most.

**The next day  
**

"Yo, we're here… get out." Bella's eyes snapped open and she looked around; huh?

It was already dark.

Who knew the ride home from the airport would be so quick.

"How much do I owe you?" She asked the taxi driver; he rolled his eyes.

"Like I said before fifty dollars." Bella quickly paid the man and got out of the car; she scowled at him as he drove away.

She grabbed her bags and went inside her house; as soon as she closed the door behind her, the bell rang. Her eye brows furrowed and she opened it.

"Oh my god!" She screamed as she was hoisted into the air and then squeezed against her attacker's body. She tried to pull away but he wouldn't let go.

"Paul! Let go!" She giggled a little despite herself.

"I thought you left me." He whispered into her ear; she shook her head.

"I didn't leave stupid, let me go." He chuckled and loosened his hold on her.

Bella straightened her clothes out and then noticed that he was hardly wearing any.

Just like the time at the hospital.

Bella turned and made her way towards the kitchen; she was starving.

**Thoughts?  
Please tell me what you thought of it.**** Tell me what you liked, didn't like. Whatever. ****  
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	9. Deja Vu

Paul walked over to her seat, placed his bag down and sat down in the one next to it.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"…Isn't that, what's her name's seat?" She finished; he wiped his large hand over his face and chuckled.

"It was _Luke__'s_ place who by the way is a boy but I asked him to swap with me." He told her, she didn't look embarrassed for not knowing at all.

Bella took a seat and rested her head in her hands; she thought with eyes open so that she wouldn't get into trouble with the teacher.

"What are you thinking about?" Paul whispered to her; his hot breath tickled her ear.

"My next masterpiece." She murmured.

"What do you….?" He was cut off.

"Mr Meraz, Miss Swan, is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?... No? Then kindly stop talking." Mr Anderson berated; Bella didn't even acknowledge it.

"…As I was saying, your partner for the assignment will be whoever you're sitting next to now." That brought Bella back to earth.

"What did he just say?" She asked as she turned to Paul who was wearing the biggest grin ever.

"He said, we've gotta write an essay on the use of facts and opinions in the media…. _And you're my partner; we only have a week so we have to get started today._" He sounded suspiciously excited about the last part.

"Oh joy." Was all Bella could say.

"So your house or mine?" Paul asked, wiggling his eye brows suggestively; Bella blinked twice then sighed in relief as the bell rang.

"Yours." She replied; he smiled and took her hand, leading her out of the classroom; she wasn't quite sure what to do.

Maybe this was what all friends did? She looked around; no one else was holding hands.

Oh wait, yeah they were but those two were kissing too; she was sure that the guy was from Paul's group of friends. Embry was his name, right?

"Hey!" He called; Paul stopped immediately and turned, asking Bella to wait while he went to speak to the guy; she agreed and watched from afar.

The two of them had quite an animated discussion but she couldn't make out the words, it was like they were mute to everyone else but each other.

Before Embry left, he placed something in Paul's hand; it was a small square rapper.

Paul looked down at it for one second and then he started to shake a little.

"I thought I fucking **said** that it isn't like that with her, you **fucking asshole**!" Everyone heard that.

Bella's eyes widened as she walked over to them, she stood right next to the both of them.

"Dude, relax it was just a joke." Embry answered, throwing both of his hands up and taking the small rapper from Paul's hand.

Bella tried to get a look in but he hid it well.

Paul was still shaking.

Bella placed her hand on his arm and looked at him; his eyes snapped to hers.

"Are you okay?" She asked sincerely; he calmed immediately.

"Huh? Yeah. Embry's just being an ass." Paul dismissed as he grabbed hold of her hand again and started off in the opposite direction; Bella slithered out of his grasp, it felt weird to her.

There were tiny sparks where their skin had contact.

He led her over to his car and opened the door for her; she thanked him before getting in and settling in the passenger's seat.

She giggled for the first time in a long time as Paul got in, the whole car tipped.

~~~3~~~

Bella froze as she got out of his car; he looked at her expectantly.

"What's wrong?" He asked her; she shook her head slowly.

"I've never been here but I'm pretty sure this is 'Déjà vu." She answered; he smiled softly and held out his hand. She frowned at it and walked past him, towards what was a mansion by La Push standards.

Bella looked around as Paul took her on a tour of his large bachelor pad which was right on the outskirts of La Push, almost bordering on Forks.

It was decent, clean which was surprising; there wasn't much in it though, it was minimalist, only containing the basics.

"You live here alone?" She asked him, noticing that she'd only seen one bedroom; he smiled sadly and handed her the water she'd asked for.

"Uh yeah, my dad's abroad with business a lot so…." He replied; she nodded her head slowly.

"….But there's the help moving in and out all week so it's not like it's lonely or anything." He told her; she nodded again. 'Help' huh? No wonder the place was so clean.

Paul set his English supplies out on the coffee table, she did the same and they got to work.

He put pen to paper and Bella's eye brows furrowed; she stared down at his hand.

"What?" He asked her gruffly; she blinked and shook her head.

"Nothing." She replied; he exhaled and put his hand down.

"Seriously Bella, what is it?" He asked her.

"It's just that you're left handed; why are you writing with your right?" She asked him; Paul looked amused at the random deduction.

"Why do you think I'm left handed?" He challenged; Bella shrugged.

"It's obvious; all I have to do is look around this place." She told him; he raised an eye brow.

"Yeah?" She planted her hands down on the coffee table.

"This table's on the left hand side." She pointed over at the windowsill in the kitchen.

"….That coffee mug handle is pointing to the left; you use the left power sockets the most. The pen and paper is on the left side of the phone because you pick it up with your right hand

…and take down messages with your left and there's a knife on the bread board in the kitchen with butter on the right side of the blade because you must use it with your left hand…. So why're you using your right?" She explained; Paul's mouth was ajar, he recovered quickly.

"I'm ambidextrous; it's just that I mostly use my left. What about you? How did you pick all of that up?" Bells shrugged again.

"Photographic memory… if I'm actually paying attention, I can remember so much." She replied as she removed her black biro from her pencil case.

"That's amazing. You should get some good grades with that." Bella shook her head.

"Nope." She answered, popping the 'p'. "I'm failing everything except Art."

Paul choked on his own spit; he used to think she was a little challenged in the learning department but he didn't think it was that bad.

"What? Why?" Bella shrugged again.

"I dunno, I just don't apply myself; I honestly don't see the point with filling my head with all the useless stuff….. So I guess I just turn off." Paul shook his head.

"School isn't useless Bella, you need an education to get somewhere in this world; I'll admit that some of the things they teach are useless but other things stay with us throughout life. Like how to add and subtract or that the world revolves around the sun." He explained, Bella eye brows furrowed and she looked a little shocked. Paul shook his head.

"Please tell me you knew that, Bella." He pleaded; she bit her bottom lip and nibbled a little.

"Bella." He groaned; her eyes narrowed and she sat up a little straighter.

"Oh hell, what does it matter? So we go around the sun…. if we went around the moon or…. Round and round the garden like a teddy bear, it wouldn't make a difference, would it?" She justified; Paul wiped his hand over his face.

"But she remembers the nursery rhyme." He murmured.

"Huh?"

"What? Oh nothing." He answered; Bella's eyes narrowed more to the extent that they just looked closed.

"You know what? It doesn't even matter; I've gotta go." She grumbled as she began to pack her things away into her bag; Paul placed a hand over hers and it stilled.

"Don't leave yet Bella, I'm sorry." He told her; she pulled her hand from his and stood up anyway, making her way to the door.

"I said I've gotta go; tomorrow we're meeting at my house." She grumbled; he tried to hide a smile and stood.

"I'll see you at school." Paul called as she slammed the door behind her.

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PLEASE no flames.**


	10. No

Bella cleaned her brushes in the Art Room sink.

Then her phone began to ring and she instantly knew who was calling; there was only one person who had her number.

"Why are you calling me, Paul?"

She rolled her eyes though he couldn't see her.

"Whatever, what do you want?"

He grumbled under his breath before answering.

"I want you to meet me at my… boss' house after school."

She didn't fail to notice the stumble in his sentence.

"Why?"

"I'm finishing work early and I'll need to eat so I thought it would make sense to go straight there." _Plus, I wanna introduce you to the pack._

He left out that part.

So then, a couple of hours later, Bella found herself standing awkwardly in Emily Young's kitchen with her back against the sink.

She could hardly hear herself think over the shouts and laughter of the pack in the living room.

She watched as the scarred women chopped, sliced and diced away at the food on her chopping board.

Bella was sorta amazed.

"You don't cook very often, do you?" Emily guessed; Bella shook her head.

"I like noodles in a cup….Oh wait, I can make cookies." She amended. Emily turned to her and smiled with only the good side of her face.

"Really? Perhaps you'd like to make some; you know, for the guys." Emily suggested very tentatively; her voice was so quiet, it was hard for Bella to hear what she was saying.

"Nah, Paul says they're shit." She responded; Emily laughed and thought about just how suited Bella was to her imprinter.

At that moment, Paul stepped into the kitchen, the breath caught in Bella's throat.

She watched as his chest muscles flexed as he walked.

He smirked cockily.

He knew he was all that.

Paul grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it.

She looked away in embarrassment.

"You ready to go?"

She shook her head and pulled her hand from his.

"I thought you needed to eat."

He shook his head this time. Yes, he was hungry… very hungry but he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.

"Nah, I'm okay."

Emily laughed quietly as she slipped out of the kitchen to give them some privacy.

Bella smiled up at Paul and nodded her head.

Then she found herself being yanked outside onto the dirt road.

"Paul….Paul!"

He turned to face her with curiosity on his face.

"Huh?"

"You're pulling me."

"…Sorry."

He scratched the back of his head as they walked together this time.

"If we walk through these trees we'll end up at the beach."

Bella raised her eyebrow.

"I thought you said we should never go into the forest."

"Not 'we'. _**You**_. It's fine as long as I'm with you… But the order still stands with you're alone." He corrected himself.

Bella stopped and looked up at him with an incredulous expression.

"Order? Really Paul? So now you're ordering me around." She crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

He exhaled tiredly.

"I'm _asking _you."

She unfolded her arms and moved a little closer to him; looking away her cheeks flushed red.

**A little later….**

"Hey Paul…" Bella murmured as they walked across the shore.

"Yeah Bella?"

"How did Emily get those scars?" Paul stopped in his tracks and he turned to her.

She was a little frightened; he looked so serious.

"She was attacked by a bear up in the mountains." He told her mechanically, almost as if he didn't want to.

Bella's eyebrows furrowed as she thought about Emily's ruined face.

"I disagree." She concluded.

Paul's head recoiled a little.

"What?"

Bella wandered why he was so shocked.

"Well, a bear paw resembles a human foot in shape, as in the length of each digit diminishes as you go along, right?"

She waited for Paul's nod of understanding before continuing.

"On Emily's face, the middle scar starts higher than the rest… so unless that particular bear was deformed, it sounds pretty unlikely. I'd say those look more like wolf scratches."

Bella watched for Paul's reaction; he stiffened.

She noticed.

"What do you think, Paul?"

She turned to fully face him.

He stared her down for a while as if he was trying to figure her out.

"I don't know, how about I tell you another time…. Say tomorrow at four, I'll meet you here?"

Bella's eyebrows furrowed again.

"But it's Saturday tomorrow and the project isn't due for another week."

She was confused.

Paul leaned into her ear and whispered;

"I know."

She slithered out of his embrace and shivered a little.

He did things to her body that made her uncertain of herself.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" She asked, wanting to clarify.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I'm not going."

Paul's face pulled into a huge grin.

"Of course you are…. Huh?"

Bella chuckled at his incredulous expression.

"You heard me, I'm not going."

She replied as she began to walk away from him.

**Thoughts?  
Please tell me what you thought of it.****  
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PLEASE no flames.**


	11. Rain

It was 4:05 and Bella was painting.

Of course she was, what else would she be doing?

She turned to her cell phone on the mantle and checked the time again. It was now 4:06…and her canvas was still blank.

She exhaled angrily and tossed her paintbrush on the floor as if _it _had offended her.

Bella whined audibly and crossed her arms over her chest; why the hell couldn't she paint anything?

_Because she was thinking about stupid Paul, that's why. _

The worst part was that she was annoyed that she was thinking about him; he was probably with his friends right now shouting, joking and eating at his 'boss'' house.

Bella sniggered at the word 'boss'; she wandered what Paul would think if he knew that she was already aware of his big….

Rain suddenly pounded at the window and Bella was immediately woken from her thoughts.

She frowned.

So on top of the fact that she couldn't paint; she was also stuck inside, huh? Charming.

In the end she decided to curl up in her bed while wearing her favourite pair of pyjamas.

They always helped her sleep.

She awoke three hours later to find that not only was it still raining, but it was getting dark outside too.

She huffed.

Then her mind did what it seemed to be doing a lot these days…. It drifted to _Paul_.

Bella grimaced.

And then the guilt began to work its way into her body.

What if Paul had turned up at four, saw she wasn't there and then returned home feeling hurt and rejected.

Bella couldn't stop the tears from pooling in her eyes. It was like she could almost feel the hurt that he may or may not have been feeling.

She sat in her bed, staring outside at the heavy rain.

"_**Fuck**_."

One minute she was swearing at the rain, and the next she found herself bounding straight out of her home and into her truck in her favourite pyjamas.

The engine puffed to life, and she took off towards Paul's expensive bachelor pack without a second thought.

Bella sped down the wet dirt-roads of La Push with a purpose; she had to see Paul. Now.

As she drove past the beach, her eyes strayed towards the sea; what she saw there caused her to slam down so hard onto the breaks that her foot might have burst right through the rusting metal beneath her.

Paul was standing on the other side of the beach in the rain; at first she couldn't believe her eyes.

She just watched him for a while; he paced back and forth, checking his watch every few seconds as if she was nothing but a mere few minutes late.

Bella scrambled out of her truck, leaving it parked in a very inappropriate place, before running as fast as her long legs would take her.

Of course he had seen and heard her coming a mile off in that truck but Paul waited until she was inching from his soaked body to speak.

"Why're you late?"

The question didn't register in Bella's mind immediately; after all, she was still having trouble believing that he was here. It was almost eight o'clock for Christ's sake.

"Oh right, yeah about that…" She had idea what to say.

"Just apologise." Paul snapped at her.

Bell's eyes narrowed.

"Why should I?" Paul gave her a look which somehow questioned whether or not she was actually for real.

"Because this is your fault." He replied in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

"Says who?" Bella retorted.

"The Almighty Me." He replied smoothly.

She had nothing more to say at that point so she settled for trying to shake the rain off of her soaked head instead.

It wasn't really working. It just kept coming.

"I'm sorry."

Her apology came as a surprise to the both of them.

"Yeah, you should be."

Bella narrowed her eyes at the cocky yet annoyingly sexy man in front of her.

He always had to go just that little bit further, didn't he?

"You know what? I'm not sorry; who accepted your invitation anyway?"

Paul recoiled as if she had just slapped him.

"You came didn't you?" He accused; Bella narrowed her eyes further, there wasn't much that she could say to that.

"Asshole." She whispered.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

And then they found themselves standing in the rain once again in silence.

Suddenly, Bella grabbed Paul's hand and began to drag him to her truck.

"I'll drive us home. You can get cleaned up at mine. I don't know what you were thinking, idiot. Standing outside in the rain for three hours. What are you, crazy? Don't blame me when you get pneumonia of something…" She mumbled.

Paul stared at their linked hands and smirked; it was the first time she had initiated contact with him.

He got into her truck in silence and just watched her as drove. There was a little crinkle in her forehead but he could tell that she wasn't frowning, just concentrating.

Paul's eyes trailed down her body, taking in every detail.

He held back a growl.

The short, skimpy pyjamas she was sporting left only the most private parts of her body to the imagination.

After a few minutes, Bella pulled up at her house.

Paul watched her beautiful butt as she jogged through the rain and disappeared into the house before following her.

He found himself in the living room, wandering why the hell her house was so big.

He didn't notice the first time.

Obviously it was nowhere near the size of his but it was pretty large for someone who lived alone.

Paul's eyes drifted around the room and homed in on a lone photo on the mantle.

It was his beautiful Bella, smiling brightly.

Paul had never seen that smile before; it was then that he made it his life's mission to have her make that smile again.

But then he realised that there was more to the photo than just Bella and he growled, low and threateningly.

It was some guy; he was white with shoulder length messy hair and a large grin on his face.

He was carrying Paul's Bella on his back; his hands squeezing lightly at her thighs.

"Here. You can wear these. They're my dad's. You're definitely not the same pant size so I brought sweatpants, I hope you don't ….Paul?" Bella trailed off when she realised that Paul wasn't looking at her, nor the clothes in her hand but at the picture on the mantle.

Her eyebrows furrowed at his form. He looked so rigid.

"Paul? Why are you staring at that picture?" He turned to her slowly; his eyes held something that she didn't recognise.

It made her gasp a little.

"Who is that in that picture with you?" _And you better not say your boyfriend. Or I swear to God I'll kill him_.

"That's Isaac. He's my brother…. And stop looking at me like that…. It's creepy." She finished, shrinking away under his glare.

Paul relaxed immediately.

_Her brother. _

"Thanks." Paul said as he took the dry clothes and towel from her hands.

She turned away and walked through to the kitchen, of course Paul, being the love-sick puppy that he is, followed her.

"You want some green tea? Water?"

"Just water would be great."

She handed him his glass of water and sipped at her green tea.

"So what about your mom? Where is she?" Paul didn't have to ask about Charlie, Bella's dad; he had found out from Embry that the man had died in action while trying to apprehend a suspect.

"She's in Florida receiving treatment. She was some psychological problems." For some reason, Bella felt the need to chuckle humourlessly.

"So, you're brother…" He was trying to change the subject. "Does he live with you, or…"

"No, we all lived together when I was younger though. Isaac, mom, dad and I. But Isaac moved to New York two years ago."

"Do you go to see him often?" Paul thought that maybe he could take her in a few days time during Christmas break.

"He's dead, Paul." Bella had never been one to sugar-coat things. So why start now? "He died a year ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Bella." He said sincerely. Bella brushed him off.

"It's okay. Really. I don't mind talking about him."

"How did he die?" Paul asked, because he was curious.

"Do you really wanna know?" This story was not for the squeamish.

"Yeah."

He had expected her to say something related to an illness or accident.

"He was murdered. Some crazy guy sliced the top of his head off and took his brain."

Paul choked on his water.

"Huh." Was his brilliant reply.

He had to change the subject. Somehow.

"They never caught him, you know? Isaac's murderer." Bella spoke bitterly.

"…I swear, even I've found more evidence than those meatheads that call themselves law enforcement officers."

Paul's ears perked up.

"What evidence?"

Bella was caught off guard, she wasn't expecting him to have heard that.

She silently walked past him into the large living room, searching under white sheet after white sheet for one particular painting.

When she finally found it, she winced.

Bella held it up for Paul to see.

He looked a little horrified.

It was a man, no doubt Isaac lying on the floor with a petrified expression on his face, the top of his head gone.

Standing over him was a silluette of his killer.

Paul took it from Bella's shaking hands and placed it down behind her.

He took her shivering body into his arms; she clutched onto him.

"Bella, why would you paint something like that?" He asked her.

She shrugged.

"I dunno… I was high." She confessed before backing away from him a little.

She left out the part about her painting it before Isaac was actually murdered.

"Can I see 'em all?" Paul asked her, referring to the paintings.

**Thoughts?  
Please tell me what you thought of it.**** Tell me what you liked, didn't like. Whatever. ****  
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PLEASE no flames.**


	12. Truth

**A.N. Hey guys, this is the chapter that most people have been waiting for! Where Qahla's true nature is revealed \(^_^)/ Excited? Yeah, you are! Lol. Anyway, before you get start reading, you should know that special credit goes to Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Steve Thomson the writers of 'Sherlock' as I borrowed some of their lines in this chapter **

"These are really something, Bella." Paul mused as his eyes went from painting to painting.

"You could become famous." Bella felt like she had heard that somewhere before.

"Hopefully while I'm still alive." She replied, feeling like she'd said that before as well.

Paul's hand reached for another white sheet; Bella's eyes widened.

"No, not that one!" She spoke so quickly, he almost didn't catch it.

His hand retracted like he had been bitten.

Bella let out a long breath, relieved.

Paul watched her, and then the canvas, he was just itching to rip the sheet off and find out what she was hiding from him.

But he didn't.

A howl ripped through the air between them.

Bella looked to Paul with expression that he didn't recognise.

"I've gotta go, I'll see you later?"

"Whatever."

"Oh yeah, you wanna come to Emily's Christmas Eve party?" Paul tried to sound nonchalant, even though he really wanted her to.

Bella just blinked twice.

"Well Embry's inviting your friend so you might as well keep her company." He tried to persuade her.

"Embry's inviting Qahla? Why?" Bella was baffled.

"Because he wants to get in her pants… not like that's ever gonna work." Paul shook his head and sniggered as he spoke.

Bella blinked twice.

"I'm pretty sure he's not really her…. Type." He prompted.

"Oh." Was her brilliant response.

Bella thought about it for a second.

Paul walked over and stole a kiss on her pouty lips.

"Don't look so confused over that, Bella." He told her before dashing out of the door.

"Don't kiss me, asshole." It seemed like she was saying that a lot these days.

He was already gone.

Bella relaxed a little and walked over to her paintings, she covered them all one by one until she got to the one that she had told him not to look at.

She glanced behind herself quickly, as if there could have been someone peering eagerly over her shoulder.

Bella pulled the white sheet from the canvas and stared at it.

She was curious of the implications of what she had painted… and the circumstances around it.

She wondered if it was just a painting… or one of _those _ones.

Bella had a feeling it was the latter.

On one side, half of the face of the man who she seemed to be seeing too much of lately.

Paul.

With his usual smouldering stare.

And on the other side, a silver wolf.

Appearing with the same expression as Paul.

**Christmas Eve**

Bella's head cocked to the side in curiosity as she stared down at the gift bag next to Qahla's leg. It was pretty large, almost standing as tall as Qahla's knee yet it was overflowing with presents.

Bella looked at her friend questionably.

Qahla blushed a little.

"I have a very large family."

Bella shook her head.

"No, not that..." The wheels in Bella's head began to turn and her mouth pulled back into a large yet accusing grin. "You've got a boyfriend!"

With two neat yet long strides, she was standing in front of Qahla and Embry. Embry actually looked a little put out by the revelation.

Paul followed behind her like her ghost.

His hand settled around her waist.

Qahla's eyes widened to the point at which she looked a little scary and she began to splutter.  
"W-what?'

Bella's eyes were still fixed on the present.

Qahla's face grew increasingly red; her eyes searched Bella's, pleading with her to stop talking but of course she didn't get the message.

"Er, Bella." Paul warned but she didn't even turn to him; she was too engrossed in the mysterious gift bag.

"That present at the top of the bag…"

From that point on, Bella had all of the wolves in the room listening to her every word, wondering how this would end up. The living room was suddenly silent.

Qahla's grip on her glass grew tighter.

Bella bent down to pick up said present.

"It's beautiful. Perfectly wrapped in a bow, all the others are slap-dash at best…" Emily's choked on her cheap champagne, they had all been informed by Paul that Bella was prone to 'food-in-the-mouth syndrome' but this was a little bit too much.

"For someone special then." Bella deduced, looking to Qahla for confirmation.

"Uh, Bella…" Paul piped in but she took no notice of him and decided to continue.

"The shade of red echoes your lipstick, either an unconscious association or one that you're deliberately trying to encourage. Either way, you love him."

Neither Bella nor Qahla were aware but the whole pack was now listening intently.

"Bella, you might wanna stop…" Paul trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"I'm guessing you're serious about him, right? That's why you're giving him a gift at all… so you're looking for a long term relationship and the fact that you're seeing him tonight is obvious from your make-up and what you're wearing."

Qahla shifted uncomfortably, pulling the hem of her little red dress down a little.

"You're obviously trying to compensate for the size of your mouth and breastsssssss…." Bella's voice trailed off and her eyes widened as she read the label on the beautifully wrapped box.

_To Bella,  
Merry Christmas  
Love Qahla xXx_

"Oh." Bella deadpanned.

Quil gave an awkward whistle from where he was standing.

"Yikes." Jared said regretfully from the other side of the room.

Paul scratched the back of his head.

Emily scurried away to the kitchen.

Leah chuckled under her breath almost silently.

Qahla wore a blank, hollow expression on her face. She wanted to run out of there right now but her body wouldn't move one bit. She was frozen in both fear and embarrassment. Instead, she settled for talking.

"You always say such horrible things, always… always…" She muttered.

Bella was ashamed.

She was always doing things like this without realizing.

What was she supposed to do now?

As always, Bella did the first thing that came to her mind.

"Oh I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." She apologized as she stepped forward and embraced her in a tight hug.

Qahla's body ran hot in excitement and she clutched to Bella's waist, forgiving her almost immediately.

Paul stared at the two of them as the wolf inside him stirred in confusion. It was as if it didn't know how to act, there was someone in its presence touching it's mate in a way was nothing short of sexual yet this person was not an unimprinted male. Therefore, the wolf was unsure of what to do.

Bella pulled back slowly and stared at Qahla; Qahla stared back.

Then, Bella did something that no one expected; she leaned forward and brushed her lips over the other girl's before pulling her into a passionate kiss.

"Merry Christmas Qahla."

**Well that was embarrassing wasn't it? Yeesh…  
****Thoughts?  
Please tell me what you thought of it.**** Tell me what you liked, didn't like. Whatever. ****  
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PLEASE no flames.**


	13. Tease

**A.N. Hey! I wanna thank everyone on ff who has stuck with this story so far. It'll be over in a couple of chapters . If you like my ****short**** stories, then please check out 'Untouchable' and 'A Quarter Mile at a Time' as they are structured similarly to this one. Love you guys  
**

**Christmas Day**

"No. For the ninth time, I don't have any feelings for Qahla." Bella was way too tired to be hearing this.

"Are you sure?" Paul asked, sounding almost excited.

Bella had no idea what he was thinking.

"Yes!"

"Well then, why'd you kiss her?"

"I dunno, I just did the first thing that came to my mind, is all. I guess it was like Christmas present." There wasn't much else to say.

"Why the hell would that be the first thing that came to your mind?... And why didn't I get a kiss for Christmas?"

"Paul, please just drop it. It was just a kiss. I know that, Qahla knows that. Everybody knows that. So chill, okay? You're so annoying." Bella walked upstairs to her bedroom and proceeded to brush her wild morning hair.

Why was Paul here so early on Christmas morning anyway?

She asked him.

"Why are you here so early again?"

Her words freed him from the spell her breasts seemed to have put him in. They bounced a little every time so pulled the brush through her hair.

"Huh? Oh, because I have work during the day so I thought I'd see you now and then again in the evening."

"You're coming back again?" She asked him, trying not to sound excited.

He nodded.

"Geeze, why don't you just move on in?" She murmured.

He chuckled behind her.

"Oh and why are you going to work today? It's Christmas. Who needs workers on Christmas day? Isn't it the time for family and all that?"

Paul made himself comfortable on her bed before answering.

"Well, I guess. But my dad's the only immediate family I have and he's in Japan on a business trip."

Bella could sense some animosity in his voice

"Don't like him?"

"Nope."

She didn't bother asking him anymore questions. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk about his dad.

Paul moved from the bed and slowly walked up behind her.

She could see him in the mirror.

Bella watched as his muscles flexed as he walked; her eyes trailed down his naked torso until his cut offs began.

Her eyes made their way back up to his annoyingly perfect face.

His nostrils flared momentarily before a smirk settled on his lips.

Bella wandered what he could smell.

"Besides, the person I really wanna spend Christmas with is right here."

Paul's body pressed up against hers.

His hands clamped on the dresser at either side of her.

Bella caught herself blushing as she tried to get away from him, she turned in his arms.

It made things worse.

Now he had easy access to her face.

The breath caught in Bella's throat as he leaned down to her lips.

And then he was gone.

Bella blinked twice in confusion.

What the hell?

Her eyes narrowed.

"Asshole."

And then a loud chuckle from downstairs.

"I'll be back for my Christmas present!"

He shouted up to her before he left for patrol.

Bella pouted.

**Later on that afternoon**

"Bella!" Renee's voice filled her ears.

"Hey mom. Merry Christmas." She replied, trying to pretend that her mother's childish tone wasn't breaking her heart.

"Merry Christmas, Bella."

"Did you get my present?" She had sent her mom a quilt that she had made; it was made of the t-shirts they used to buy on their trips when she was younger. Back when Renee was still sane.

"Yes, I love it. Thank-you Bella." For a second there, Renee's voice matured and Bella found herself crying.

"I miss you mom." She hiccupped.

"Don't cry Bella."

"Okay, mom. I won't." She wiped at her eyes.

"I love you Bella."

"I love you too, mom. Say hi to Phil for me."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye, mom."

**Thoughts? **

**I know it was short, so I let it out a little early  
****Thanks for reading.  
PLEASE no flames.**


	14. Art

It was seven p.m. on Christmas day and Bella was slightly on edge.

Ever since this morning, it was as if everything Paul did caused a chain reaction in her body which somehow lead.

It was getting completely out of hand.

She even found herself staring at his muscled back as he washed up the dishes from their meal.

She had offered to do it but he had told her,

"You called the Chinese Restaurant, the least I can do is the dishes."

Even she had to chuckle at that one.

His voice brought her out of her less than appropriate thoughts.

"Seriously though Bella, you wanna have sex?"

Her eyes popped open.

"What?!"

Paul looked at her with an odd expression and dried his hands with a cloth.

"I said, you want me to buy a TV set? It's seriously boring around here."

Bella let out a deep breath.

_Phew, that was close. _

Then again, she was a little disappointed.

"Uh, no thanks Paul. I don't like to watch TV anyway. It would just be a waste of money."

"It's a pity. We could have played some sexy games."

Her eyes widened again.

"What?!"

"I said, it's a pity. I'm gonna miss the basketball game."

When he saw her exhale this time, he frowned in concern.

"Are you okay, Bella?"

He stepped closer to her.

She swallowed.

"Yes." She squeaked.

Paul raised an eyebrow and looked at her funny.

"_Okay."_

She blushed, embarrassed.

"I'mgonnagopaint." She said it so fast, it all sounded like one word.

Paul watched her disappear into the living room with a smirk on his face.

He knew he was affecting her.

**Half an hour later**

"Bella?" Paul asked as he watched her paint.

"What is that?"

Bella barked out a laugh.

"It isn't anything, Paul. It's abstract… It's not about what the painting looks like, it's about how it makes you feel."

"…Feels like a few blobs of paint…."

Bella chuckled.

"I know… but this what sells." She shrugged.

"They prefer this over your normal stuff?" Paul asked incredulously.

"Yep."

He shook his head.

"Idiots."

Bella agreed.

"So how much would something like this sell for?"

"Hm, anywhere between three hundred and one thousand dollars."

"Cheap people."

Bella laughed at him.

"Paul, not everyone's a billionaire like you… and my paintings aren't worth a billion…" Bella trailed off.

Paul gave her a lob-sided smirk and skipped towards the front door; he returned with a large square wrapped gift.

"Speaking of being worth a billion dollars…" He held the present out to her. "Merry Christmas."

Bella just stared at it in his hands for a little while.

"Paul…" He cut her off.

"I didn't buy it, I swear."

"Really?"

"Really."

**Thoughts?  
****What do you guys think Paul got her? ****  
Thanks for reading.  
PLEASE no flames.**


	15. Arms

**A.N. Hey guys! So we've finally reached the end of this fic? It's kinda sad isn't it? Thank-you for all your support and for staying with this story until the end  
This chapter is based on Arms by Christina Perry. Btw, it's a great song so check it out **

**Chapter 15: Arms **

"You did this?" Bella asked Paul, trying to keep the hysteric laughter that was building inside her from bursting out.

"Yep." He answered, with his arms crossed over his chest.

Bella stared down at the canvas again; her head cocked to the left.

Then to the right.

Yep, it was still terrible.

"This one is me, right?" Bella asked as she pointed to the stick man on the left with long muddy brown coloured hair and melon-sized circles poking out on either side of its chest.

"Yeah, the bodies were already black so I painted your hair brown." Paul explained.

Bella coughed to hide a laugh.

"And this is you… with knives pointing out of your sides?" She asked unsurely as she pointed to the other one.

"_No_." He replied like it was the stupidest question he had ever heard. "…Those are my abs."

That was it.

Bella burst into laughter.

Louder than she ever had before.

It was just that funny.

Paul watched her with grumpy yet amused eyes.

On one hand, he was annoyed that she found his work of art so hilariously funny…

But on the other, he was glad to see her so happy.

He had never really seen her laugh, not like this.

"But you like it, right?" Paul asked once she had finally calmed down.

Bella nodded her head as she wiped at her eyes.

"I love it."

The sincerity in her voice made him smile; for a second there, they really connected.

They were almost wolf and imprint.

"What are you grinning at?"

"Nothing."

Paul watched her as she walked into the kitchen and returned with a nail and hammer.

Then without saying a word, she began to hit the nail into the wall.

He was kind of impressed at the way she did it with ease.

Then he realised that she had been doing everything alone for a long time.

But she didn't have to.

Paul has here now, and he wasn't leaving her side for anything.

Bella checked the nail was properly stuck in the wall before mounting Paul's painting on it.

She smiled widely, but quickly stopped herself.

She turned around to see Paul standing right behind her with his stupid lob-sided smirk on his face.

"What?"

"It's time for my Christmas present."

"I didn't get you anything." Bella answered defiantly.

Paul shrugged and took a step towards her.

"I know."

Bella watched his movement carefully.

"…But you know what I want." He reminded her.

Her eyebrows furrowed.

And then she remembered.

_"I dunno, I just did the first thing that came to my mind, is all. I guess it was like Christmas present." There wasn't much else to say._

"Why the hell would that be the first thing that came to your mind?... And why don't I get a kiss for Christmas?"

Bella took a step towards Paul; he looked kind of surprised.

He didn't think she'd actually go for it.

Her slim arms wound themselves around his neck as her face got closer and closer to his.

Paul closed his eyes just before her lips touched his, only to feel them graze lightly across his cheek.

But he wasn't disappointed.

Not at all.

In fact he was more determined than ever.

This was the first time that she had actually initiated the contact between the two of them.

"This doesn't change anything." She reminded him. "I still hate you."

It was funny, because he knew that those words held no meaning whatsoever.

Paul chuckled.

"I know."

**February 4****th**

Bella was sort of worried.

Worried about Paul.

He was behaving, well odd.

She could count the number of times she had seen him in January on one hand.

And that was including when they were at school.

She wondered how many days he'd missed so far.

He was always so busy with work.

But Bella could feel that it was more than that; sort of like a chill down her spine.

She could tell that something was coming.

Something big.

And every now and then, one of her paintings would catch her eye.

It was the one that she had painted about a month and a half ago; the one with the glittery people on one side and wolves and more glittery people on the other.

She couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was happening had something to do with the sudden changes in Paul.

His behaviour earlier this week was what had her really thinking:

"_Can't you just do as you're told for once?" He was getting pissed now._

Bella gave him a look that could wither plants.

"No. I can't. Who do I look like to you? Jared? Well, I'm not. You can't tell me what to do." 

_She was tired of him thinking that she could be controlled. _

_They were both silent for a minute._

"_Just do this one thing for me, Bella. Please." Paul pleaded with as he stood in her doorway._

Bella looked at him more carefully. 

_What it just her or was he a lot… bigger?_

He was. Taller and wider. 

"_Paul, what's going on?" She asked him seriously._

He took another look to the forest behind him.

"I wanna tell you. I really do… But I can't, not right now. I have to do it properly."

This wasn't making any sense. 

_"Do what properly? Paul, you're not making any sense."_

"Please, Bella." Her mouth snapped shut.

"…Just… Just stay home this Saturday."

Bella shook her head. 

_"Like I said, I can't. I have to go to the art fair. How do you think I pay the rent, Paul? Money doesn't grow on trees." She began to lecture him._

"I'll give you the money so…"

"No! I've told you so many times, Paul. I don't want your money." 

_"Okay, sorry." He massaged his nose with two fingers._

It was all getting too much. 

_"Just do this for me, Bella. Please." He repeated._

She exhaled heavily and crossed her arms over her chest.

Bella frowned as she remembered that day.

Who did he think he was anyway?

Turning up at her doorway to order her to stay at home.

Not even so much as a greeting to break the tension.

"Asshole." Bella muttered as she pulled on her coat and then her gloves.

There was no way she was staying home today.

She needed the money.

Not only for the rent, but for a plane ticket. She wanted to visit Renee for her birthday.

Bella stopped with her hand on the door handle; a tiny voice inside her was saying that she really should stay at home today.

Plus, the look that Paul had on his face that day really made her feel guilty for what she was about to do.

_Knock, knock. _

Bella's jumped in surprise at the knock at her door.

"Who is it?" She called cautiously.

"It's Quil."

She relaxed a little; it was just one of Paul's friends.

She opened it and stared at the tall, beefy man.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked in a less-than-impressed voice.

Quil sauntered in, ignoring her.

"Holy shit! You really don't have a TV?!"

How did he even know where she lives?

Bella had a pretty good idea.

"Did paul send you here to spy on me?"

"Yes." Quil answered honestly.

"Did he offer you money?"

"Yes."

"Did you take it?"

He smirked, knowing he had done the noble thing for once.

"No."

"Oh …. Well." His smirk grew even wider.

"Pity, we could have split the cash."

Quil's smirk faded instantly. _Shit!_

"Quil, will you tell me what's going on? You know, right? You know where Paul's gone and why I can't go out today."

He exhaled heavily.

"Just trust him on this one, okay Bella? Paul's doing his best for the tribe. For you… and so are the rest of us. So just go easy on 'im okay?"

Bella thought about his words.

It was the first time she had heard Quil sound so serious over something.

"Is he safe? Whatever he's doing today… will he get hurt?" Even as Bella asked the question, her heart started to hurt.

"He might." Quil answered honestly.

It didn't matter how talented the wolves were, or how well they did their jobs.

They were outnumbered.

Even with the Cullens.

And it didn't hurt that Quil was here baby-sitting Paul's imprint instead of fighting along-side his brothers.

Bella sat down, afraid.

"You got something to eat?" Quil asked as he got up and walked towards her kitchen.

"Yeah, there's some noodles in the cupboard… or some left-over Chinese in the fridge."

"I'll take both."

**Two days later**

"Hello? Paul?" Bella asked enthusiastically as she answered her phone.

It was the first time she had spoken to him since Saturday.

"Yeah, it's me."

She let out a breath that she seemed to have been holding since this afternoon.

"You're okay."

"Yeah, I'm good." He answered her.

"You're lying." She told him, already getting her coat on.

"No, I'm o…" Bella cut him off.

"I'm coming over."

She put the phone down before he could argue with her.

It didn't take her long to drive to Paul's home.

Not when she was going as fast as her bust-up truck would take her.

His front door creaked open slowly.

If she hadn't already prepared herself mentally for what she was about to see, she might have gasped.

"Bella…" She cut him off.

"You're a mess."

Paul was a mess.

He was leaning on one side, suggesting that he had injured one of his legs. His left arm was in a sling across his body.

There were bruises all over his right… and Bella would bet her life savings that there were bruises underneath the t-shirt he was wearing as well.

She slapped her hand onto his forehead.

His skin was even hotter than usual.

"You really do have a fever!" Bella was surprised.

She didn't think his skin could get any hotter than it already was.

She was wrong.

"Bella…" She cut him off again.

"How the hell did you get this bruised? You know what? Don't tell me… But look at your arm." She shook her head as she spoke.

"I wonder why the hospital let you out so early."

It wasn't the hospital that had patched Paul up. It was actually Carlisle Cullen…

But he wouldn't tell her that.

"Or maybe you forced your way out of the hospital." She speculated.

Bella could totally imagine that.

"…Anyway, go lie down." She ordered before starting towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna get some ice."

"Bella, I…"

"Just go lay down."

"Bella." He said a little firmer this time. "I…" But she still cut him off.

"Never mind, just get into bed stupid!" He recoiled a little at the sudden outburst and stared at her tense back.

Bella readied her herself before turning back to him.

Paul's eyes widened.

She looked so _sad_.

Her eyes were watery, they were pleading with him.

"Please…. Just get well…." She said before disappearing into the kitchen.

Paul had just settled under his quilt covers when she walked in with some crushed ice in a cloth.

Bella placed it over his forehead.

He relaxed instantly, it felt so good.

"Are you eating right?" Bella asked tentatively.

He avoided her eyes.

He hadn't been eating well at all.

After breaking his arm, Paul soon found that he couldn't do much in the kitchen with one arm.

Not to mention, he didn't feel like eating right now.

Bella left again.

He missed her.

Soon, a peculiar smell began to waft into his nose.

She returned around twenty minutes later with a large pot, a small bowl and a spoon.

Bella opened the lit of the pot and Paul's stomach flipped.

"You overcooked the rice and now it looks like cream soup. Bella, your cooking skills are just…"

"_I'm sorry_ I'm so bad at cooking! Don't eat it if you don't want it. I'll eat it myself!" Bella replied angrily.

"I'll eat it."

She froze and looked at him hopefully.

She was surprised that he actually wanted it.

"But I can't hold a spoon so you have to feed me."

Her eyes narrowed a little. So that was the catch.

Her cheeks reddened as she blew on the rice before lifting the spoon to his lips.

Then Bella awaited his verdict.

"I'm amazed… to think that you can kill the flavours of food this much…" She stuffed his mouth with another spoon before he could finish.

"Just shut up and eat."

Only ten minutes had passed since Bella had cooked the rice and the whole pot was finished.

"If you can eat like this, I guess you'll be fine." Bella shrugged, still a little amazed at the fact that he had actually eaten it.

"There's no way I'd leave it uneaten…. It's the first meal you've ever cooked for me."

Bella chuckled at his words and nudged his arm, only to hear him hiss in pain.

"Sorry!" She said quickly.

He pouted.

"That really hurt, Bella."

"I'm really sorry, Paul." She actually felt really bad.

He moved the arm that she had nudged and grunted loudly.

"Oh my god, Paul. What can I do?" She was afraid. What if he had broken it even more?

Was that even possible?

"Get under the duvet with me."

"What?"

"Just get under. It'll make me feel better."

Her eyes narrowed and she sat back on her heels.

"I am not getting under there with you."

Bella replied adamantly.

"Really? Because I think that's the least you could do. Ow!" He shouted fakely as he moved his arm again.

She quickly slid under the quilt was him, her head buried into his chest.

His arm squeezed at her body and hugged her close.

"Liar." She murmured.

She could feel the rumble of laughter in his chest on her cheek.

Then he was asleep.

"Paul?"

"Paul, are you awake?"

There was no response.

She smiled into his chest and held onto him even tighter.

Bella's smile weakened as she wandered what the hell this was.

This thing between her and Paul.

She was confused and above all, scared.

That was why she always pushed him away.

Bella was afraid that she wanted him a lot more than he wanted her.

"_I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart,_

But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start,

You put your arms around me,

And I believe,

That it's easier for you to let me go, 

_You put your arms around me and I'm home, _

_How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around?_

I can't decide if I'll let you see my life or if I'll drown, 

_I hope that you see right through my walls,_

I hope that you'll catch me, 

_Coz I' already fallin',_

I'll never let our love get so close, 

_You put your arms around me and I'm home."_

The world was coming down on her and she couldn't find a reason to be loved.

He baffled her.

With him, she felt clueless.

She had never felt this way about anyone before.

But she if there was anything she knew; it was that somewhere between their stupid arguments, long talks, and making fun of each other…. She'd somehow fallen in love with him.

**Thoughts?  
****Thanks again for sticking with this! If you liked this one, please check out 'Untouchable' and 'A Quarter Mile at a Time'.  
Add me to your AUTHOR ALERT for more stories as I am planning to get another new short story, like this one, out soon.  
Also, there may be a sequel to this one but it might not be for a little while. But not sure yet.****  
****Review one last time? **


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